"You losers are going to hell, just sayin..."

I am always thankful that I have a never ending list of things to write about and, when I’m too tired to necessarily dig deep into a story or blog that I’m interested in, I let my Facebook Friends write a story for me.
This one comes from a co-worker/friend today. On his wall he wrote:

“Just saw a commercial for a Christian dating website, Christianmingle. You losers are going to hell, just sayin...”

2 people liked his post.
One person said, “Haha, Total Losers”
Of which my co-worker responded “Totally”
Another person said, “I already have my one way ticket so, I’m not worried.”
The last post was: “Christianmingle? w..t..F?!?!”

My immediate reaction was one of appall and I was also a little offended by his remark as well. Although I do not identify myself as a Christian, in a organized religion sense, I was christened in the Catholic church and I can understand how there came to be dating services for Christians looking for other Christians to date; just like there are Jewish dating organizations. And, even though I may have a huge difference of opinion where it concerns some Christian organization’s viewpoint on things like civil unions, gay rights, reproductive right etc, I would never slag the whole religion in general or the fact that they date. I think Christian people are pretty nice and I love them as much as my Jewish, Muslim and Buddhist friends. I hope they all get dates.

And then I got to thinking: Didn’t I have my Facebook friend in the Social Media Class that I taught at work? If he was there, why would he write something like that in a public format? Did my friend not know that some of his clients may be upset about such a statement? And, if even one of the salon’s clients had an issue with the statemement, I’m sure that statement would come back to bite him in the leg--if not get a talking to by management. I’m sure it’s not a thing to fire someone over, but I know I taught him that Facebook and anything online is not private. This guy is a sweet guy. And he’s funny, in person. Maybe it was just one of those flippant posts that he just didn’t think about too much? So I wrote him a personal one-to-one FB message. My tone was pretty straightforward.

Saw your post on Christian dating service and you saying they are going to hell. I know for certain that saying that anywhere, especially online, can and will be taken offensively and can be used against you--and, if you actually think about it, is not very smart. I suggest you take it off.

When I saw him make other posts and he didn’t take the offensive post off, I thought, what the heck: Let my friend write my next Social Media Blog.
I will say this one more time: Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Linkin etc. is not you. It is an ongoing public discussion and you get to focus your content to what your “brand” is about. Unless you have a big bank account, a secure job and revenue stream, and you are willing to fight for any controversial statements that you make on these social media platforms, I suggest that you take another look at who’s looking at you.
I’m a writer who tells it like it is. I’ll fight for what I say online & admit when I’m wrong about what I’ve said. I’ll also stand up for anyone who is unnecessarily slagged whether they be Christians, daters, “looser,” or puppies.

“Buy my books, or I’ll cut you!” www.mafiahairdresser.com